Lothian & Borders cops suspended amid drugs probe

SIX drug squad officers have been suspended from duty pending an investigation.

Detective Inspector Garry Inglis and five unnamed uniformed cops from Lothian and Borders Drugs Unit have been put on paid leave.

Last night, a police spokesman confirmed the officers had been asked to stay away from work until further notice.

An investigation is being carried out by officers working in the force's professional standards department.

DI Inglis led the Drugs Unit at the Force's "A" Division, which covers Edinburgh city centre. And it is not the first time he has been questioned by fellow police officers. As a detective constable, he was kicked out of the elite Drug Enforcement Agency after being caught drink driving in 2001.

He was fined s500 and disqualified from driving for 18 months at Edinburgh Sheriff Court. He was put back on uniformed duties but worked his way back into detective work.

A police spokesman said: "As part of an ongoing investigation, five uniformed officers and one detective have been asked not to report for duty until witness statements have been noted from them.

"It must be stressed that none of these officers are in any way suspected of criminality."

A police insider said: "This is an unprecedented move. It is highly unusual to put officers on what is really garden leave.

"Usually if a complaint is made they are moved to a different department pending an investigation or officially suspended, not sent home to twiddle their thumbs."

DI Inglis, who works from St Leonard's in Edinburgh, declined to comment at his home in Gullane, East Lothian, last night.

The news came a day after another cop faced a drugs rap. Constable Christopher McGinn, 28, appeared on petition at Haddington Sheriff Court on Monday charged under the 1971Misuse of Drugs Act and with perverting the course of justice.

The uniformed officer, from Prestonpans in East Lothian, has now been suspended.

He appeared alongside David Gare, 27, of Musselburgh, who was also charged under the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act. They made no plea and were remanded in custody.